Yelp

Judge tosses libel lawsuit, orders firm to pay woman's attorney fees

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"I'm just proud of this young lady," attorney Michael Fleming tells the Houston Press . "She stood up to them, she did the right thing, and she was successful." Last summer, 20-year-old Houston resident Lan Cai was hit by a drunk driver, breaking two bones in...
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San Diego is best, says Yelp

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Just in time for "Small Business Saturday," Yelp has released a ranking of the 20 best US cities to shop locally for gifts, based on millions of locally-written reviews of stores (just not the big-box variety), per Albuquerque Business First . The top 10 cities:
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Family complained about anti-Muslim bias years ago

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The adage "There's no such thing as bad publicity" probably doesn't ring true for the owners of First American Fried Chicken: The Elizabeth, NJ, restaurant is owned by the family of alleged bomber Ahmad Rahami , and Vice reports that its Yelp page is being spammed with negative...
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Chain understaffs those in minority neighborhoods, say researchers

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Ouch. A study out of Columbia University suggests that Walmart deliberately runs much better stores in white neighborhoods than in minority neighborhoods. The study found that stores in lower-income neighborhoods have considerably lower customer service ratings than those in wealthier ones. More specifically, the higher the percentage of black or...
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Texas firm now faces sanctions to deter similar suits

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A petsitting company's attempt to sue for $1 million over a one-star Yelp review got zero stars from a Dallas County district court, which firmly rejected the lawsuit. The court also decided that Michelle and Robert Duchouquette, the couple being sued by Prestigious Pets, "would be awarded their...
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Sad!

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The owners of a German restaurant in New York have taken down an autographed photo of Donald Trump because they say it was hurting the business, the AP reports. According to the Brooklyn Daily , Schnitzel Haus owners Fred and Amber Urban say the photo of the Republican presidential nominee had...
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Lan Cai's former attorneys say she wrote libelous half-truths

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Things went from bad to worse after Lan Cai, a 20-year-old waitress working her way through nursing school at Houston Community College, was hit by a drunk driver on her way home from work at 1:30am. She'd broken two bones in her back, and she'd never been...
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Yelp now adds warnings to pages of businesses that retaliate

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Yelp has just issued its third ever consumer alert, this one about a dentist in Manhattan who has sued five patients since 2012 for posting negative reviews, reports BuzFeed . Nima Dayani has asked for anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000 in damages, so Yelp is warning consumers that Dayani'...
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Tituss Burgess says he was stood up by a moving company, rage-warns others

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After he says he was stood up by a moving company, Tituss Burgess did not take a breath and a sip of pinot noir. Rather, the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt actor very publicly lost his cool on Frank's Express with a scathing Yelp review on Wednesday, giving the New York...
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Never fear, Gordy recovered; common sense, not so much

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In what amounts to much ado about a Betta fish, Ars Technica picks up the case of a Texas couple who went on vacation last year, and did what many traveling pet owners do: They hired a pet-sitting service, a simple act that has now resulted in "numerous death...
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After 'Emma C' gave Georgetown eatery one-star review

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Just to be clear, Emma C. had a terrible experience at DC's Nick's Riverside Grill, leaving the Georgetown restaurant one star on a now-removed May 26 Yelp review. In it, she wrote of the "worst" happy-hour service and an overcharge no one responded to, Grub Street reports....
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First lawsuit dropped, second lawsuit asks for a lot more

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The petsitting company suing a Texas couple over their negative Yelp review now wants even more money from the couple. As Consumerist reports, Prestigious Pets' original lawsuit, which sought less than $7,000, was quickly dropped—only to be replaced with this new suit, which seeks between $200,000 and...
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Talia Jane says she got fired for complaining about wages

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A Yelp employee who complained about having to live in near-poverty conditions has a new problem—she needs a job. Talia Jane wrote an open letter to CEO Jeremy Stoppelman on Friday seeking higher compensation and detailing her struggles to afford food, rent, and transportation in San Francisco, and got...
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Texas couple says Yelp review was fair

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"Fair and honest feedback is not the issue here." That's what a pet-sitting company has to say after suing a customer who wrote a negative Yelp review. Robert and Michelle Duchouquette of Plano, Texas, say they hired Dallas' Prestigious Pets to check in on their two dogs...
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Jennifer Ujimori is waging a fight for First Amendment rights

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"In a nutshell, the services delivered were not as advertised and the owner refused a refund." Sounds like a pretty standard negative Yelp review, but it got Jennifer Ujimori slapped with a $65,000 lawsuit. The Virginia woman wrote it after signing her Bolognese puppy up for a...
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Union Street Guest House does not take criticism well

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The Union Street Guest House in Hudson, NY, wants you to keep your crummy opinions to yourself. So if you post something about the hotel’s "rude customer service, unclean, terrible odor," as NY Pix 11 quotes one reviewer, the hotel will collect a $500 fine. It’s...
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Site is locked in legal battle over users' anonymity

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How much do some small businesses hate Yelp? So much that the Federal Trade Commission has gotten more than 2,046 complaints about the company since 2008, the Wall Street Journal reports. Most are from small businesses saying they've been hit with unfair or fraudulent reviews—sometimes right after...
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'I'm no lawyer, but I know a racket when I see one,' writes David Lazarus

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Rick Fonger, who owns a California jewelry store, used to advertise on Yelp. The day after he stopped, last month, a Yelp employee called to tell him that his competitors' ads were now showing up above the reviews on his store's Yelp page . "She said that for $75...
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19 companies agree to stop deceptive practices in New York

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Fake reviews are a known problem online—but New York has managed to crack down on them using an equally fake yogurt shop. After a yearlong investigation, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman this week announced that the state has reached settlements with 19 companies; they'll stop with the...
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But amusing trend underscores serious problem

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Planning on committing a crime in the near future? You might want to check Yelp first and make sure you do so in a county that has a nice jail. Yes, prison reviews are increasingly popular on Yelp, with reviewers commenting on everything from cleanliness and food quality to security...
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